Training your dog.by Dennis Fisher.

Housebreaking your young pup

This article is one of a great many articles
written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning
different dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health
matters, training problems and other subjects. All these articles appear
on Dennis Fisher's websites. Visit
http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site
that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or
http://www.freedogadvice.com if you
interested in a breed other than German Shepherd Dogs

Ayoung animal’s control of his functions is going to be weak. You cannot
expect too much with regard to bladder control from a very young pup.

If you
live in a home where there is an outside garden, training will be very much
easier.A soon as you see any
evidence of him wanting to relieve himself, which will be very obvious by his
behavior, pick him, without grabbing him.Make disapproving sounds without being too harsh – “No my dog!No my dog!Outside!”

Carry him
outside and watch him while he does his business.Then praise him enthusiastically. “That’sa good dog!”

By
watching the pup carefully, especially after he has eaten, the indication that
he wants to relieve himself will be more and more obvious to you.

For the
first week of two it might be necessary to be very attentive and watch him
carefully.But housebreaking is
usually not a lengthy process and it certainly should not continue for more than
two weeks.

Of course
the process can be helped considerably if you feed him at regular times, regular
intervals and in specific place.He
should also be allowed to drink water at specific times.About an hour after he has finished eating give him his bowl of water.

After he
has had enough to drink it will not take long before the water starts to start
taking effect. Within a half an hour after he has had sufficient water he will
want to relieve himself.

With
regard to water not being freely available, it should be noted that restricting
water applies only to a pup.Adult
dogs should have water available for them at all times.

If you are
still in the initial stages of housebreaking, you can take wait for your pup to
show the telltale signs of wanting to relieve himself.Then continue with the process of picking him up before he has a chance
to do so.

Alternatively if you have passed this early stage, you can take him directly
outside; wait for him to perform, then praise extravagantly.

The
procedure is slightly different if you live in an apartment and it is difficult
to take the pup quickly outside.
You can put down several layers of newspapers over a fairly wide area in a
certain place in the house – preferably near the back door.

Wait for
him to show signs of wanting to relieve himself.Then pick him and place him on the newspapers.Use the same process of praising him when he has finished.

Place the
papers near the door so that he will learn to associate this as the place where
is required to go.At a later stage
you can even place some of the papers half under the door and half outside.He will soon get used to the idea of going to the door when he wants to
relieve himself, even when there are no papers.

Obviously
the idea of newspapers on the floor can be very convenient at night. A very
young pup will want to relieve himself frequently during the night.It is also a good idea to restrict the pup at night to a certain area in
your home, preferably the kitchen or bathroom, rather than let him have the run
of the house.

At a later stage, when he has the run of the entire house, he will soon get the
idea of going to his own special area or will whine to go outside.